Roman Reigns Vs. The World At Royal Rumble 2016

Roman Reigns found a way to overcome the odds on Raw this week. But Vince McMahon had another trick up his sleeve. Roman Reigns must now defend the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. And he'll be defending against 29 other men in the Royal Rumble match.

Even John Cena has never been put in this position. These are some huge odds to overcome. And I do not think Roman Reigns will be overcoming them. It is not just because he just won the Royal Rumble last year. This is about building to a bigger feud for Wrestlemania. Roman Reigns will lose the title at the Royal Rumble, have to run through some obstacles in the weeks after, and regain it at Wrestlemania.

Some fans might be hesitant to buy into this scenario. Why would they have him drop the title so soon? His first reign lasted a few minutes. His second one is now only going to last a few weeks? As the centerpiece, Roman Reigns will get a lot of title reigns sent his way. I have seen fans say that Triple H, John Cena, and Trish Stratus had a stranglehold on the main titles available to them. That is what it means to be pushed as the centerpiece. The company wants to push certain individuals more often in the title scene than others. It isn't really so much about backstage politics. But something else that also matters is Wrestlemania moments. Reigns was on his way to getting that last year, when he could have beaten Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania, but the WWE went in a different direction. Reigns climbing back up to the top at Wrestlemania this year is a story the WWE might very well like to tell. And if you are looking for a title reign that will last a few months for Roman Reigns, it might start there. Triple H, John Cena, and Trish Stratus all had at least one title reign that lasted at least close to a year. Numerous title reigns. Lengthy title reigns. Wrestlemania moments. As long as Roman Reigns is the centerpiece, these are the kind of things that will come his way.

Overall, I like the decision to have the Royal Rumble match be for the title this year. That shakes things up. That makes things more interesting. I will not speculate now on the winner, but it does feel likely that there will be a title change. Who wins? Brock Lesnar? John Cena? Triple H? You can imagine the WWE thinking about Roman Reigns going against any of those guys as worthy of Wrestlemania. And Reigns will get a big rub from beating any of those three for the title at Wrestlemania. You also have to consider scenarios of how Vince McMahon might try to screw Reigns to make sure he loses. What obstacles will Reigns have to face leading up to Wrestlemania. The WWE has the potential to do things that might actually draw for them in the coming weeks and months.